NEW THIS MORNING

RACE FOR ACKERMAN'S SEAT BEGINS WITH JEWISH APPEALS: City Councilman Dan Halloran will launch his campaign for retiring Rep. Gary Ackerman's seat today (http://bit.ly/GXOEV6) just as Assemblywoman Grace Meng did yesterday (http://bit.ly/GOGhZy), talking up their strength on Israel in hopes Jewish voters can seal a victory. NEW THIS MORNING: * Allies of Congressman Ed Towns, Assemblyman Vito Lopez and Councilman Erik Martin Dilan have landed high-level positions at Wyckoff Hospital in Brooklyn, despite questionable qualifications, further weakening the hospital's already deeply flawed management, the New York Times reports: http://nyti.ms/GPZolY * Some key Senate Democrats, shocked by the possible victory of Republican David Storobin in last week's special election in Brooklyn, are privately conceding they have little chance of retaking control of the Senate in November, Fred Dicker writes in the Post: http://nyp.st/GPl19c * One of the world's major gun manufacturers is threatening to pull its plant out of New York over the gun microstamping bill being pushed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Ken Lovett writes in the Daily News: http://nydn.us/H7ynZx * Facing tremendous pressure from teachers unions, Albany lawmakers are pushing to insert a provision in the state budget that would ban the public from seeing new teacher report cards, the Post reports: http://nyp.st/GRu8Xl * Nearly two years ago, the New York City Community Preservation Corp. Won the rights to build 2,200 apartments on the site of the former Domino Sugar factory in Brooklyn, but work never started, and now it's struggling to keep a hold on the project, the Wall Street Journal writes: http://on.wsj.com/GSmczr * Good government groups want a constitutional amendment for an independent redistricting commission placed on the ballot in 2014 to ensure the best odds of passage, the Times Union reports: http://bit.ly/H4GDuc